between 800 and 700 B.C.
brownish steatite, flecked with red and black ;
Morgan Seal 790
Description
1 stamp seal : brownish steatite, flecked with red and black ; 9 x 16 x 13.5 mm
Provenance
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes
"The stamp seals.. that can be related to Neo-Assyrian cylinders (789-794) have been grouped as Neo-Assyrian, even though it is possible that some of them were not made in Assyria... Seal 790, hwich shows linear engraving, is probably of non-Assyrian origin, since the portrayal of the worshiper in striding posture, with his shoulders in frontal view, is unlike the Assyrian rendering of worshipers; the latter stand with their feet close together, and are seen entirely in profile. The seal may be Syrian or Palestinian, since it has an Aramaic inscription and a scaraboid shape. These features, however, do occasionally occur in Assyrian and Babylonian glyptic, from the latter part of the eighth century on; the appearance of such inscriptions is explained by the fact that Aramaic had come into use at this time in both Assyria and Babylonia."--Porada, CANES, p. 96-97
Scaraboid stamp.
Scaraboid stamp.
Summary
Worshiper -- Before worshiper, bird above plant -- Behind worshiper, Aramaic inscription.
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Classification
Department